I’ve been somewhat of a concert going freak the past decade or so. From festivals to arenas to small clubs I have seen and tried it all.

All except seeing Outkast together! (I have seen Big Boi solo before.) For myself and countless others Outkast deciding to reunite for the first time in over a decade this summer at various global festivals was a great reason to hit the road and go see them somewhere.

My road led me to Lollapalooza and Chicago and they did not disappoint. It was one of the greatest concerts I have ever witnessed and I like to think that maybe I’ve reached the summit of my music attending career!

But my themes here on this site are helping you live the life you want and deserve and how to help you launch a passion project you have and create a movement for a community with it.

Outkast in my eyes exemplified what is right about the music world. As artists they created what they wanted, when they wanted, make it funky, unique, powerful, and stood behind what they built. That is certainly living the life you want and deserve. They found ways to do good through their music and they always pushed the envelope to get better.

As for what I learned from them about launching a project?

They quit making records and touring together. Andre felt they had done great work and it had run its course for the time being and they wanted to do bigger things. Big Boi has launched a successful solo career and Andre has become an actor, an entrepreneur, advocate for animal rights, and a cartoonist.

They weren’t scared to let go of something BIG but something they didn’t quite feel going forward would make the impact that it had to that point.

We can’t be scared of that. We have to be ready to activate, launch, and if necessary tweak or create something different because “It all depends on your interpretation of the situation!” –Andre 3000 quote in the song Spottieodiedopalicious.

Outkast also knew when it was the right time to come back and bring their music back into the world. Yes of course they got paid big bucks for this…but that’s not solely why they did this tour…at all.

The great ones don’t do it for the money. They launch something they love and believe in and they believe in it so much that the money comes.

Outkast reminded why we all do what we do every day. We do it to make a difference, to make people smile, to have an impact on the world in a positive way, and to shake our community out of their chairs and up on their feet!

Go see Outkast if you can…then come back here and launch that passion project for your community that you think could be as big “Hey Ya” or “Rosa Parks”! And if you want my help you know I’m here.

Carpe Diem!

Mike

PS: If you want to get fired up about writing a book or launching a live event listen in on my new podcast with Jim Kukral on my podcast page.